Friday, April 07, 2006

Bush on leaks

Here's what our President has to say about nasty ol' leakers!!!

"There are too many leaks of classified information in Washington. There's leaks at the executive branch. There's leaks in the legislative branch. There's just too many leaks. And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of." - Sept. 30, 2003.

And

"I'd like to know if somebody in my White House did leak sensitive information. As you know, I've been outspoken on leaks. And whether they happened in the White House, or happened in the administration, or happened on Capitol Hill, it is a - they can be very damaging." - Oct. 28, 2003.

And

"I want to know the truth, and I'm willing to cooperate myself." - June 3, 2004

And

Q: "Given recent developments in the CIA leak case, particularly Vice President Cheney's discussions with the investigators, do you still stand by what you said several months ago, a suggestion that it might be difficult to identify anybody who leaked the agent's name?"Bush: "That's up to. ..."Q: "And do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done so?"Bush: "Yes. And that's up to the U.S. attorney to find the facts." - June 10, 2004.

And

"I would like this to end as quickly as possible so we know the facts, and if someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration." - July 18, 2005.

And

"My personal opinion is it was a shameful act for someone to disclose this very important program in a time of war. The fact that we're discussing this program is helping the enemy." - On disclosure of the warrantless surveillance program, Dec. 19, 2005.

And

"And the fact that somebody leaked this program causes great harm to the United States. There's an enemy out there. They read newspapers, they listen to what you write, they listen to what you put on the air, and they react." - On the surveillance program, Jan. 1, 2006.

The ironic thing about all this is that it may not be illegal for the President to leak classified information ... even for blatantly political reasons. But it is unethical and if a President can be impeached for lying about carrying on with a woman, not his wife, then surely he can be impeached for lying about leaking classified information for political purposes; exaggerating the country into war; lying about "aluminum tubes"; lying about the levees; and breaking the FISA law and lying about it.